America: My Time

Chapter 1523 Greed
Chapter 1513 Greed

"Damn it, is this how you do things? You couldn't even convince John to give us a little time. Do you know how much this will affect Japan?" When the Japanese guys received the call from their subordinates and learned that their persuasion had failed, they were all extremely angry. This was a situation they did not want to see!
Despite their fury, these guys knew perfectly well that their relationship with John had long since vanished. Sending them to Taiwan was just a small preparation; they understood that it was an impossible task. Not only would John not accept it, but they themselves wouldn't either, given how ruthless those guys had gone.

"It's all our fault, we're incompetent. Now we need to ask how to reply to Mr. John. If things can't be resolved, what should we do? Should we just go back to Japan!" Although they were cursing their superiors in their hearts, they were helpless. This was the workplace in Japan; they were always the ones at fault, while their superiors were blameless. They had no choice but to take the blame!

These guys were all cursing their leaders in their hearts. If they hadn't been so calculating, they wouldn't be in such an awkward situation. If they had been 'sincere' and had offered John 'compensation' from the beginning, things wouldn't be like this now. Unfortunately, they didn't have that right.

Were those guys in the Japanese government too greedy and unwilling to pay the price? Did they fail to see the situation clearly? Neither. They simply thought that John and Japan could still maintain a good relationship, since that's how it always was. As long as they bowed their heads and admitted their mistakes, and then paid a small price, the matter would be over. Unfortunately, they miscalculated!

"Don't rush back. First, ask Mr. John what his demands are. If they're not too difficult, then agree to them. If they exceed what we can promise, then wait and see how things develop in the US!" These guys from Japan were aware of the situation in the US. After all, they had received a notification from Rockefeller before Morgan left. That's why they were so confident. Instead of rushing to solve the problem, they wanted to resolve the crisis with minimal cost. This was Japan's greed.

What constitutes a "not difficult" request was a headache for the Japanese guys. The more boundary-less the request, the harder it was to handle; one wrong move and they'd be blamed and held responsible. Under these circumstances, the guys exchanged glances, then nodded, reaching a consensus!

Then, the leader spoke up, "Sir, what constitutes a reasonable request? Is there a standard?"

When his subordinate asked for a standard, the Japanese bigwig on the other end of the phone flew into a rage, yelling, "Idiot! You can't even handle something this simple? What use are you? Of course, it's a problem we can solve. If we can't, then refuse. Remember, if it's something we officials can decide, then we'll agree. But if it involves businesses, then refuse. That's not something we can decide!"

Although they got a good scolding, the guys were very happy to have a standard. After all, as long as they had this standard, they wouldn't feel any pressure even if they failed. At most, they would get another scolding when they got back, and they wouldn't have to worry about being affected!

Why would these Japanese officials make such a decision, only offering John some policy-related assistance or benefits within their authority, while refusing to grant him any opportunities to communicate with Japanese companies when corporate interests are involved? The reason is simple: these Japanese officials are afraid that John's continued expansion will threaten their control over Japan. After all, in such a short time, John has grown into a force they fear, especially given the immense pressure his assets in Japan have placed on them.

Putting aside other things, look at Nissan Motors. Under their management, it was on the verge of bankruptcy and liquidation. But under John, it was brought back to life and has now captured a significant market share in the United States and Europe. Not to mention, its market share in Asia is also constantly expanding. Under such circumstances, who wouldn't be afraid!
For John, would the policy assistance from the Japanese government be of any use? Absolutely not, unless they were willing to open up more sectors to him, which was impossible. Leaving aside Nissan, even the telecommunications and retail sectors were causing them considerable anxiety. Retail was manageable; John controlled a powerful agricultural and livestock industry, owning numerous farms and the food they needed, which he could use to expand through discounts. But the telecommunications sector was entirely different. The mere thought of John's ever-expanding market share in Japan gave these guys a headache.

The Japanese conglomerates all wanted to reclaim this asset, but they couldn't. After all, it was an opportunity they had given John. Moreover, the rapid development of the express business after the bubble burst put immense pressure on the Japanese. It's fair to say that the mere thought of John becoming one of the industry giants in Japan filled them with fear and unease. Yet, they dared not turn against John now, given his control over their energy and mining shares.

"So, you've already communicated, but what 'sincerity' do you have to satisfy me?" John said with a calm smile when he saw the Japanese guys return to him, completely ignoring their serious expressions!
“Mr. John, whatever your request, we will absolutely not refuse as long as it is within our capabilities.”

Upon hearing this, John immediately understood the scheme of those Japanese officials, so he shook his head and said, "It's not about what I want, but what kind of 'compensation' you can give me. If you still say that, then there's nothing more to say between us. It's not that I didn't give you a chance, but that you were unwilling to seize it."

Although John remained calm, the Japanese guys could feel the immense pressure emanating from him. They knew John was furious; his repeated probing had shattered their communication with him, and now Japan would face John's counterattack!

The Japanese guys opened their mouths as if to say something, but swallowed their words. They couldn't give John a promise, and they didn't dare to act on their own. Under these circumstances, the negotiations naturally broke down, and they were naturally very worried, as John's reaction made them feel threatened. Leaving John's residence with helpless expressions, the Japanese guys were all preoccupied. On the way back to the hotel, they finally couldn't help but speak up: "What should we do now? I think things are getting a bit dangerous. Shouldn't we report Mr. John's attitude to our superiors? After all, we'll be held responsible if something goes wrong!"

"Indeed, we should report this to the lords. This is no longer something we can decide, and we cannot harbor any suspicions. Otherwise, if something really happens, we will all have to commit seppuku to atone for our sins. As for what the lords do, that is not something we can interfere with!"

Although reporting the failure back to Japan at this time would subject them to harsh criticism and even make them the scapegoats, they dared not hide it, because the consequences of a real problem were something they could not afford!

Under such pressure, the moment they returned to the hotel, these guys immediately reported everything to their superiors, clearly conveying John's attitude, for fear of missing anything!

The Japanese quickly tensed up, forgetting even the anger of berating their subordinates. They immediately sat down to discuss countermeasures, as this was no small matter. If John launched a counterattack, it would be a disaster for Japan. Moreover, their calculations had backfired; Morgan hadn't yet appeared in Taiwan. At this moment, the Japanese began to regret their haste in sending people to Taiwan to meet John if they had known his stance earlier. They hadn't given him any time, leaving them in a dilemma!
"Gentlemen, what do you all think we should do? This is no small matter. I believe you have all heard the reports from your subordinates. We all misjudged Mr. John's attitude. We were wrong in this matter; we shouldn't have used past experience to judge this situation, which is why we are in such a passive position!"

"What's the use of saying all this now? Everyone understands the mistake we made this time, but I'm not really involved. It's not that we don't want to solve the problem, but we can't control those companies' decisions. Even if we agreed to Mr. John's demands, do you think those conglomerates would agree? We did make mistakes, that's true, but the biggest mistake wasn't ours, it was the conglomerates, those semiconductor chip companies. They schemed against Mr. John behind our backs, which led to this situation. And after their scheme failed, they're unwilling to pay the price. What can we do? Most importantly, we don't know what they did before. To this day, we still don't know just how big a mistake those people who were silenced made!"

Goodness, the Japanese government is quite capable; they've shifted all the blame onto those companies and conglomerates. While they may have made mistakes, those were minor ones. The real culprits are those foolish individuals!
“That’s right, Watanabe-san is right. We only made minor mistakes. If those guys hadn’t been unwilling to give us the power to make decisions, we wouldn’t have been so passive and made such a wrong assessment. Now that our operation has failed, we’ll wait for the US’s actions and for Mr. Morgan’s decision. Of course, we also need to inform the companies of this negotiation failure in a timely manner so they can be prepared. This isn’t our fault, and they can’t blame us!”

"I'm afraid they won't accept this outcome, won't admit their mistakes, and will try to shift all the blame onto us. After all, those who did it have been silenced, and we have no evidence at all. That's the most troublesome thing, and it's what puts us in the most passive position."

“No matter how difficult it is, we have to face it. If all else fails, we should try to ask Akio Morita to step in. In Japan, only he has the ability to persuade Mr. John not to hold a grudge against us.” At this moment, someone thought of Akio Morita again and wanted to put all the pressure on him.

The idea was good, but reality was incredibly cruel. At this moment, someone spoke up: "Tanaka-san, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Akio Morita-san's health is very poor now, and he can no longer bear such responsibility."

"Mr. Kobayashi, this is a choice I have no other option but to make. We have to give everyone an explanation no matter what, so this is the only thing we can do. At least we need to express our stance: it's not that we don't want to solve the problem for the conglomerate, but that we are powerless to do so. Mr. Akio Morita is our only choice!"

"Watanabe-san, that's true, but they won't accept that explanation. Don't forget that even Kawai Naoko and the others have left Japan. Do you think Morita Akio-san still has any influence left? We don't need to explain too much now. Just tell those guys Mr. John's attitude. What they do is their own business. It's not that we don't want to solve their problems, but we really don't have the ability to do so. Do you understand?"

“I understand. How could I not understand this situation? But do you think the conglomerates will accept our explanation? Even if we reach a consensus, it won't be of any use. The conglomerates won't accept it. They will only think that we haven't tried our best. So no matter what, we have to take some action to let them know that we are working hard.”

Upon hearing this, the men present nodded in acceptance. Whether they could do it was one thing, and whether they would do it was another. They couldn't give up just because of a temporary setback; attitude was still very important. At least in terms of action, they couldn't give up. Those guys in Taiwan needed to continue to make a difference. Even if they couldn't convince John, they had to take action to prevent the conglomerates from finding a reason to target them!
When things reached this point, although some people were dissatisfied, feeling it was self-deception, most accepted the explanation. Regardless, they had already taken action; it was just that the project ultimately failed, and the responsibility didn't lie with them—they had tried their best!

(End of this chapter)